Smriti Irani accuses Rahul Gandhi of misleading people on Monetisation plan

New Delhi, Aug 24 (UNI) Union Minister Smriti Irani on Tuesday accused Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and P Chidambaram of holding a “fake and highly misleading” press conference on the National Monetization Pipeline (NMP).

“Those who sold off the assets of the country and committed massive corruption are now levelling baseless and false allegations against us,” Smriti Irani said.

She said Rs 8000 crore monetization of the Mumbai – Pune Expressway project- was done during Congress regime in Maharashtra. She asked why Congress had a problem with monetisation now.

She also said in 2006, the privatisation drive of airports was started by the Congress-led UPA government.

“So is Rahul Gandhi implying that the Congress government sold off roads , railways and airports of the country?” she said.

“The Narendra Modi government has started this process for the development and progress of the country and save the country from the corrupt Congress. The National Monetization Pipeline very clearly states that the government will continue to hold the ownership of all its assets,” she said.

Irani added that the National Monetization Pipeline talks about the brownfield assets which need to be monetized in a lucrative and judicious manner. She said the money raised will be spent in infrastructure development.

Earlier in the day, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was selling the assets created over 70 years, even as he stressed the Congress is not against the privatisation.

He also said the assets would be sold to a few corporates, and said it could lead to monopalisation and unemployment.

Up to 25 airports, 40 railway stations, and 15 railway stadiums, among other installations, have been identified to get private investments in the Rs. 6 lakh crore monetisation plan announced by the Finance Minister on Monday.